


A Demon's Duet

by Mirlinish



Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, Fantasy, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-18
Updated: 2013-05-09
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirlinish/pseuds/Mirlinish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Aiden, a young bard, travels from one castle to another, he ends up in the middle of battle between a vampire and its hunter. Before he is able to get away, he suddenly find himself bounded by magic to the playful vampire, Xy’lan. Now with both of them not able to walk more than ten steps away from each other, they decide to find a way to separated themselves again. Though on their way they find out secrets behind the flute Aiden inherited from his father and Alex, the hunter who was after Xy’lan, which they had never expect to uncover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dyslexic andEnglish is not my first language..  
> Grammar nazi's will hate me :'D  
> I don't have a beta yet. Sorry guys...

It was somewhere around the middle of spring. The weather wasn’t warm, neither was it cold. The sun stood low, as it was almost time for it to disappear behind the horizon. The reddish colour in the sky reflected in the lake’s calm water and it was completely silent in the forest around it; except for one extraordinary song.

It was played by a man who sat in front of a tree near the lake and leaned against its trunk with his back. With a flute against his lips, the young man brought forth tones that sounded unearthly. He hadn’t ever heard anything that was equally or even more beautiful that the sound of the flute.

Aiden was his name, a young bard who was born twenty-one years ago, in a small village in the west. Where his mother still lived and his father had died merely two years ago.

Aiden took the flute away from his lips, held it in front of him with his arm stretch and leaned with his head against the tree trunk. A sigh passed his lips, while he stared at the flute in the last bit of daylight.

Playing the flute always reminded him of his father. The flute had been his father’s before his death and Aiden inherited it.

Its mouthpiece was on the side of the flute and its body was decorated with symbols that the bard couldn’t translate. He knew his father could, but whenever Aiden had asked him about it, his father talk around it or told him he would find out when he needed to know.

His father had always been a mysterious man and ever since his death Aiden wondered if he would ever find out who his father really was. Never the less, his father had been the best father he could have wished for. He had always been there for him, helped him, loved him and told him stories nobody was able to tell the way he did. Whenever his father told a story the listeners felt like they were on the scene itself. It was as if his father had witnessed all of those stories.

His father was the reason why Aiden wanted to become a bard, though he wasn’t as good as his father was, far from it actually. Whenever the young bard played his flute, people came from all the corners of the castles to listen to his songs, but as soon as he began to tell the stories his father told him, people left as soon as they had come.

During those moments, Aiden always wondered if he left home too soon; if it hadn’t been better just to wait a bit longer and learn to tell stories just slightly better, but then he reminded himself that he had no choose but to leave, because of his illness.

Where a normal healthy man would love a woman, Aiden only fell in love with men.

Some people said it was an illness of the mind, others believed that a man who loved another man was possessed by the devil. Aiden himself believed the first, that it was an illness, simple because he didn’t feel like he was possessed. However, that didn’t make it less of a problem; neither did it lighten his hatred for the illness.

When his mother found out about her ill son, despite Aiden’s effort to hide it, the young bard could see his mother suffering under the knowledge. She tried everything to hide it from the other villagers and it broke her piece by piece. In the end Aiden couldn’t handle to see his mother like that any longer and decided that he had to leave. Even though he had never gave in to the sin of his illness he left, hoping that his mother could pick up her old life again; hoping that if he would stay away from men long enough, that he would one day return cured.

Aiden suddenly realized that it was almost dark and quickly stood up. He still hadn’t set up a campfire or search for shelter. It probably wasn’t going to rain, but there were still animals around and he didn’t want to be attacked during his sleep.

He was just attaching his flute onto his belt –where it always hung when he didn’t use it- when he suddenly heard cracking sound further into the forest. He stopped moving and listened to the sounds, trying to figure out where they came from and where they were heading.

His heart jump up when he heard it coming towards him with quite some speed. At first Aiden thought it was an animal, but then he heard voices. Two to be precise.

The sound of braking branches and cracking bushes was overwhelmed by one man’s war noises and the playful laughter of another.

Aiden quickly grabbed his bag and searched for his dagger. Why he hadn’t attached it to his belt –like his flute- the bard did not knew. Probably because he never encounter any danger before.

He found he dagger and pulled the scabbard off. Then as quick and quiet as he possible could, he ducked into a bush next to him, because there was no time to run without being noticed anymore. The voiced were merely a few steps away from him.

For a moment it was quiet. Aiden carefully looked around and wondered where the man suddenly went.

Then Aiden heard a playful and teasing voice above him. “A~lex!”

Aiden looked up and saw a young looking man, probably around his age, sitting on top of a thick branch. How the male got there Aiden had no idea. He hadn’t noticed him climbing up into the tree behind him. Not that he was bothered by it though. The man in the tree didn’t look down to the bard, so he guessed he was hidden well enough. For now.

“A~lex.” The young man in the tree said another time and looked around. “Don’t tell me you gave up on me already.”

Just when he said that, a war noise came out of a large bush a few steps away from Aiden and the man in the tree, followed by the appearance of a giant man.

The giant man ran into Aiden’s direction. What happened next went too fast for Aiden to react to. The man swung a huge axe towards the man in the tree. The playful male jumped just in time into another tree, causing the axe to hit the branch and chop it off. The branch fell down right next to Aiden.

Aiden’s eyes widened, staring at the thigh thick tree limp, and covered his mouth with his hand to muffle a yelp. If that thing had fallen on top of him, he wondered if he had been able to tell the tale.

With his heart in his throat and slightly panting, Aiden turned to where the playful man went, just to keep an eye out. He didn’t want to get crushed another time.

“You’re not going to get away this time, vampire!” The giant man bellowed in a low and harsh voice.

Aiden could feel the blood draining from his face, causing him to turn pale. Vampire? The word circled through Aiden’s thoughts. He swallowed in fear and almost crushed the handle of his dagger between his fingers. He had to get away from there as soon as possible; a vampire was nowhere near his fighting skills. He would have been able to defend himself from some animals or one or two bandits, but he was no match for a vampire.

“How could you!” The vampire suddenly brought out in a dramatic way. “You forgot about my name again. You’re hurting my feelings, Alex!” An amused smirk appeared on the vampire’s lips. He grabbed the branch he was sitting on and let himself slide upside down with his feet against the bottom of the tree limb, as if he was a bat.

Aiden blinked when he saw the vampire hanging there and couldn’t believe his eyes. For a moment he completely forgot that he had to run for his life, because he was fascinated by the acrobatic skills of the vampire.

The vampire hunter suddenly threw his axe to the ground. “That’s enough!” He bellowed. He stretched his arms before him, one hand holding the other and his hand palms pointing at the vampire, and began to mumble words in a language Aiden hadn’t heard of before.

The vampire jumped out of the tree and slowly walked half a circle around the vampire hunter.

Aiden quickly grabbed his bag and hung it over his shoulder. The vampire’s attention was fixed on the vampire hunter. Now was the time for the young bard to leave. He jumped up from behind the shrub and intended to take a sprint deeper into the forest. However, he felt a tug on his belt followed by something snapping. The young bard looked down and saw his flute entangled with the shrub.

Aiden looked up at the battle between the vampire and its hunter and realized that he had run out of time. A light orb appeared in front the vampire hunter’s hands, aimed at the vampire and indirect towards Aiden. When the giant man called out the spell’s last words the light orb shot away.

The vampire sprinted towards the hunter and attacked him.

Aiden saw the orb coming towards him, but had no time to run away. He duck, but realized it hadn’t helped when a warm, tight and unpleasant feeling spread through his body. It took his breath away, causing him to gasp for air. The young bard gagged, but did not throw up, just before the feeling suddenly disappeared.

Aiden sat on his hands and knees and stared at the ground. He panted, trying to process the fact that he did not die. A thought shoot through his thoughts and immediately he began to check his body. Maybe he wasn’t dead, but who knows what the magic could have done to his body.

The young bard couldn’t find any harm to his body and took a deep relieved breath. Maybe the magic only harmed vampires. Then he quickly looked up, checking if the vampire hunter had succeeded.

Aiden’s heart dropped. The giant man lay on his back and on top was the vampire, his fangs buried deep within the vampire hunter’s neck.

Without wasting any more time, Aiden pulled his flute out of the shrub and stood up. With his eyes fixed on the vampire, he quietly walked away backwards. When he was about five steps away from the vampire, he turned around and sneaked away, trying to stay behind shrubs and trees.

“Where are you going?” The vampire’s voice came from right behind Aiden and the vampire’s breath ghosted over the bard’s neck.

A shiver ran down Aiden’s spine and his heart was beating rapidly. Aiden didn’t look over his shoulder and took a sprint. Not that he believed that running would keep him alive. The vampire had already proved him he was quick, when he suddenly stood behind him.

All of a sudden something took Aiden’s breath away and pushed him forcefully back, knocking him over. The bard quickly turned towards the vampire and jumped back on his feet.

The vampire was standing about ten steps away from him, but didn’t do anything.

Bewildered Aiden pressed his back against the invisible wall and held his dagger in front of him, ready to defend himself as soon as the vampire would attack.

Aiden touched the wall with his free hand and tried to find out what it was. It felt like a force field. The further he tried force his hands through the force field, the stronger the resistance became.

The bard quickly turned his attention back to the vampire again and swallowed. “Let me out!” He commanded the vampire, with as much confidence as he could muster.

The vampire cocked his head to the side and smirked playfully. “I can’t.” He said. “Not even if I wanted to.” He licked his lips and his blooded fangs, while he stared at Aiden intensely.

Aiden shivered slightly, but tried to control it. He didn’t want to vampire to amuse himself with his fear. “Then what is this wall?” The young man noticed the trembling in his own voice. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

The vampire didn’t answer; instead he took a step into Aiden’s direction, still playfully grinning.

Aiden could feel the wall behind him suddenly move away from him. He took a step back without even thinking about it and felt the wall against his back again.

The vampire cocked his head again and licked his lips with a smirk. He took a step to the side and so did Aiden, trying to stay at the vampire’s opposite, as far away from him as he possibly could.

The smirk on the vampire’s lips became even larger. He took a few quick steps closer to Aiden.

With every step the vampire took, Aiden took a step back. It seemed to be a game to the vampire, but Aiden’s heart still didn’t calm down, nor did his fear lessen.

The vampire suddenly stopped. For some time, Aiden and the vampire stared at each other, not moving a muscle. What the vampire was planning, Aiden had no idea, but the fact that nothing was happening scared him even more.

Then the vampire suddenly took a sprint into Aiden’s direction.

Aiden startled, turned around in an attempt to run away, but instead stumbled over a tree root that was right behind his feet. He fell down face forward, breaking his fall with his arms. He tried to get on his feet, but was already too late.

The vampire pushed Aiden back on the ground, flat on his stomach and hung over him. He placed both his hands next to Aiden’s head and his knees on each side of Aiden’s waist, trapping him underneath him.

Aiden could feel the vampire leaning down, his face close the bards neck. Aiden closed his eyes and knew this would be his end.

The vampire’s breath tickled the hair in Aiden’s neck. “Scared, delicious?” the vampire purred satisfied in Aiden’s ear.

Aiden held his breath, but didn’t reply. He clenched his hands, making a fist of one and grabbing his dagger tighter in the other. He didn’t want to go this way. At least not without a fight. Forcing all the fear out of his system, he blew out the air that he was holding in. Then he turned on his back in one swift motion and pressed the blade of his dagger against the throat of the vampire. “Get off of me. Now!”

 

**~To be continued~**


	2. Chapter 2

Aiden's heart beat rapidly in his chest, while he pressed his dagger against the vampire's throat. He knew that he wasn't going to win this fight, but he would be foolish not to try to defend himself.

The vampire smirked, but didn't back off. He grabbed Aiden's arm and lead the bard's dagger down, to where his heart should be. "Let me help you a little." He said playful. "It'll work better with a stake though." The smirk on his face seemed to widen even more.

Aiden stared at the vampire in fear. It confused him that the vampire was giving him tips. The vampire was only playing with him, trying to scare him even more. He knew, but it still worked. Aiden didn't give up though. If the vampire was willing to show him how to murder him, or at least wound him enough to get away, he would be stupid not to try. Without a warning he pulled his dagger back and thrust it towards the vampire's chest.

The vampire was just in time to pull away and tried to grab Aiden's arms.

Aiden pulled his arms back, before the vampire could grab them and turned himself around on his hands and knees. He didn't take the time to look over his shoulder, as he knew that it would only waste time to run away. He pushed himself up in an attempt to stand back on his feet and run away. What he had to do with the invisible wall, he had no idea, but at least he wouldn't be underneath the vampire anymore and his chance of survival would get up just a tiny bit.

The vampire laughed amused and grabbed Aiden's ankle before the bard could get away and caused the human to fall forward yet again.

The vampire crawled on top of Aiden and disarmed him, by throwing his dagger to the side. He bended to the bard's ear and chuckled softly. "I really like your spirit!" He whispered amused.

Aiden didn't listen. He forced his toes into the dirt and tried to push the vampire off of him.

The vampire huffed amused. He pushed the bard back harsh, flat on his stomach and grabbed the male's arms.

Aiden was still struggling, but it was no use. The vampire was a lot stronger than he was. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the worst. His arms were pulled behind his back and held tightly together in one of the vampire's hands.

"Now stay still for a bit. I need to see your curse mark." The vampire said quietly.

Aiden opened his eyes in confusion. "Curse mark?" He thought out loud. What was the vampire talking about? He didn’t have a curse mark. He tried to look over his shoulder, to see what the vampire was doing, but couldn't see anything in the position he was in.

All of a suddenly he felt the vampire tugging on his shirt. Pulling it up, baring his back. Aiden's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!" He asked shocked and tried to pull his arms free yet another time. "I don't have a curse mark!" He had expected the male to bite him and feed on him, instead his was undressing him for a curse mark he didn't even have.

The vampire's fingers touched Aiden's lower back gentle, stroking over a certain spot. "Pitch black." He mumbled almost inaudible and clicked with his tongue. "Looks like we're stuck with each other for a while, delicious."

Aiden frowned. "Stuck with each other?" He asked carefully. Until his surprise, he noticed the vampire letting go of his arms and didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it. He forced his toes another time into the dirt, just like his fingers and tried to crawl away from under the vampire.

The vampire sighed and pressed the young bard back down. “Don’t go running now.” He said annoyed. “I’m not going to bite you.”

Aiden stopped struggling. He wondered if the vampire was honest to him, or if he was merely trying to keep him quiet. “Could you get off of me then?” He decided to ask. If he really didn’t plan on biting him, it wouldn’t be a problem to let him go, or would there?

“If you promise me not to run off to the other side of the circle.” The vampire said. He didn’t even wait for the bard to promise him that and got off of the young male.

Aiden slowly pushed himself on his hand and knees and looked over his shoulder before he turned and sat down two steps away from the vampire. He had his hands and feet still on the ground, ready to run off as soon as the vampire would dare to attack him. The vampire didn’t look like he was planning to attack him though.

The vampire sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. He stared at Aiden quietly with a small smile.

Aiden leaned away from the vampire, not sure what he had to expect. When nothing happened, he licked his lips. The vampire looked relaxed and he actually began to realise that the vampire indeed wasn’t going to attack him. He didn’t thrust him yet though, but he guessed he could be a bit more relaxed for now. “Why don’tyou attack me?” He asked carefully. Hopefully his question wouldn’t trigger anything.

“I’m pretty sure you saw me feeding on Alex.” He said. “And you may not believe it, but even vampires have a bottom.” He reach for his stomach tapped it and smiled satisfied.

Aiden wasn’t sure how to react, but it calmed him to know that the vampire was satisfied. At least he didn’t have to worry to be bitten; for now.

It was quiet for a while and Aiden allowed himself to inspect the vampire a bit more. He looked young, about the same age as Aiden, but most likely the vampire was a lot older, as Aiden knew vampires didn’t age the same way as humans. The vampire’s hair was long, until half his back and pitch black. His eyes a dark red. His skin, until Aiden’s surprise, wasn’t pale, but slightly red as if he was hot or maybe sleepy.

The vampire opened his mouth, while Aiden was staring at him, and licked his fangs demonstrative.

Aiden shock and moved further away from the vampire.

The vampire huffed amused. “You’re really amusing.” He commented with a smirk. I’m not going to kill you. Killing you will be my own death.”

Aiden looked up confused and raised his eyebrows. “Why-“ Aiden stopped in the middle of his question. He reached in realization for his lower back and touched the spot the vampire had before. He wanted to know what was on his back and if it had anything to do with what the vampire told him. It was a curse mark, the vampire had told him earlier, and he assumed he got it from the vampire hunter's spell. What the curse mark meant and why the vampire would be involved in this, he had no idea, but he guessed the invisible wall had something to do with it.

The vampire stood up, scaring Aiden and causing him to move away even further. The black haired male turned around and lifted his shirt, showing the young bard his lower back.

Aiden wasn’t sure what he had to expect, as at first it looked like the vampire was undressing himself, but then he noticed the symbol on the male’s back. Something that looked like a ‘S’ with two dots, one on each side.

“I’m not sure if Alex aimed for you or if he missed his target.” The vampire told Aiden. “But unless we can think of a way to get rid of the mark, we’re going to be stuck with each other.”

Aiden stood up, because he felt uncomfortable to be the only one sitting. He wanted a proper chance to run if needed. He wanted to ask many questions, but had no idea where to start. “That mark…” He started, but didn’t continue.

The vampire pulled his shirt down again and turned to Aiden. “It’s a seal. A common spell used by vampire hunters. Normally they bind a vampire to something, either a large rock or a tree. They either use it to make sure the vampire can’t get out of their reach or to leave them waiting for the sun to burn them to ashes.” The vampire’s smile disappeared and was replaced by a grimace. “Normally the mark is grey and will slowly loose its power by time. A lucky vampire is able to survive until the spell wears off.” He bit his bottom lip and cut it with his fangs. He didn’t seem to be shocked by it though and lapped up the blood with his tongue. “The darker the mark is, the longer it takes to wear off. I’ve never seen such a black mark before though. However, I hadn’t expected anything less from Alex.”

Aiden licked his lips and looked around nervously, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but for some reason he hoped some miracle would hop by and save him from his nightmare. “How long does it normally take for the spell to wear off?” He asked slightly nervous. He wasn’t really sure what he had to expect, but he just hoped it would be a few days.

“The longest I’ve been stuck to a tree was a few weeks, but someone from my clan has been stuck for several years. We actually had to build her a small house to make sure she wouldn’t end up in the middle of the sun and every day they had to bring her food.”

“Several years?” Aiden slowly repeated the words, trying to process what he just heard. Then he shook his head. “No, no.” He said. “I’m not going to be stuck with a vampire for several years!” He empathised the word ‘not’ and ‘vampire’. He just wanted to travel between castle, playing songs and practising telling stories. Now, being stuck with a vampire, he was certain none of that was going to happen.

The vampire nodded with a smirk. “I’m not planning to be attached to you for long either.” He said. “I’m sure the elder knows what to do, so let’s go.” Without wasting any more time, the vampire suddenly turned around and walked into the opposite direction of Aiden.

Aiden didn’t move though. “The elder?” He asked unsure. He had no idea what the vampire was talking about, but it gave him chills. Something told him it had something to do with vampires.

The vampire stopped as soon as he noticed the wall in front of him. He turned around and looked at Aiden, before he answered. “The elder is the oldest vampire of my clan.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to take me to a vampire’s nest!” Aiden exclaimed scared. He wanted to take a step back, but felt the wall against his back.

The vampire’s eyes narrowed and Aiden knew he had said something he shouldn't have.

“Let’s make something clear.” The vampire said as he walked into the direction of the bard. “There is a change that we are going to be stuck together for a while. I know you probably don’t know a lot about vampires, but we’re neither birds nor spiders. We don’t have a nest. We live in a castle.”

Aiden stepped back as soon as he felt the wall moving behind him. He swallowed as he saw the annoyance on the vampire’s face. It wasn’t really anger, but the vampire was on edge. Aiden realised that it would be better if he would mind his words, for as long as he was around the vampire.

The vampire suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath and looked at the bard. The annoyance was slowly disappearing from his face again. He looked to the side for a moment, thinking. Then he held his arm in front of him, beckoning the bard. “Let’s start all over.” He said. “I’m Xy’lan.”

Aiden was quiet for a moment and stared at the vampire’s hand that was waiting patiently to be shaken.

The vampire was right. It was better if they would make peace and bear with each other for a while. Who knows, maybe they managed to get rid of the spell within a few days. “Aiden.” Aiden answered, but didn’t walk closer to Xy'lan to shake the vampire’s hand. He looked around and search for his dagger that Xy’lan had thrown to the side. He found it a few meters away from him. He attached it to his belt. Normally he didn’t, but being around a vampire, even if that vampire wasn’t planning to bite him, made him feel unsafe. Then he checked if his flute was still attached firmly enough onto his belt.

“You’re ready?” Xy’lan asked. He already stood a few meters away from Aiden, waiting to leave.

Aiden pulled his bag further onto his shoulder and followed Xy’lan warily. He made sure to stay at least five steps behind the vampire –enough to still be able to see the male in the dark-, just to make sure he had some time to turn around whenever Xy’lan would change his mind.

They walked back, passing the place Aiden had been playing his flute and where Xy’lan had killed the hunter, but the dead body of the hunter was nowhere to be found anymore.

Aiden looked around him, shocked, searching for anything that could have moved the body. He didn’t understand. There was no way Xy’lan would have moved the body, because the vampire had been around Aiden the whole time. The only possible way, was that some kind of animal took it. The size of the animal would have been huge though, since the hunter had been a bear of a man himself.

“Something wrong?” Xy’lan asked. He had turned himself partly towards Aiden and stared at him.

“Where is that hunter?” Aiden asked. He could hear the tremble of fear in his own voice.

Xy’lan shrugged his shoulders. “He probably walked away.” He said as if nothing was the matter. He turned away from Aiden again, ready to leave again. “You’re coming?” He asked and looked over his shoulder to see if the bard was following him.

Aiden frowned and followed the vampire. He thought Xy’lan had drained the hunter, because the hunter had been lying on his back, not moving at all. “I thought you killed him.” He commented relieved. Knowing Xy’lan didn’t kill the hunter reassured him that the vampire wouldn’t kill him either.

“This was the fifth time I killed him.” Xy’lan replied.

Aiden heard slight annoyance in the vampire’s voice and then realised what the vampire just told him. Pictures of walking dead appeared in his mind and he could feel himself turning paler. “W-what is he?” he asked scared. He caught himself walking closer towards the vampire. Even though he didn’t thrust the male, he felt more comfortable around him, than a few steps behind Xy’lan with a walking dead around.

Xy’lan noticed Aiden suddenly walking next to him, not even an arm length away and huffed amused. “He tastes human.” He answered the bard’s question. “But he definitely is not.”

Aiden looked around, scared that they would get attack all of a sudden, but it was hard to look around in the dark.

Aiden shock when he suddenly felt Xy’lan’s arm against his. He looked up and saw Xy’lan turning his head towards him. The bard pulled away and took a step to the side, he was shocked by the idea that he had been so scared for the immortal vampire hunter that he came dangerously close to the vampire.

“Scared in the dark?” Xy’lan asked entertained by Aiden’s fear.

Aiden shook his head while he looked around. He wasn’t scared in the dark; he was scared for what could be there.

“How long does it take to get to your castle?” Aiden said, reminding himself that the vampire had been quite angry when he called his home a nest. Better not to get on the male’s bad side for now.

“Hmmm…” Xy’lan hummed and thought about it for a while. “With your speed? Probably a whole night.”

Aiden had to process the information. “The whole night?” He suddenly exclaimed. “When am I supposed to sleep?” He was already tired, what wasn’t surprising because he had travelled all day long and for the average human night time was bedtime.

“At sunrise.” Xy’lan answered.

Aiden shook his head. “No no no no.” He repeated the word a few times. “I’m not able to walk another whole night! I have to sleep.” He explained and stopped walking.

Xy’lan sighed when he noticed a few steps further that the wall held him back. He turned towards Aiden and walked towards him. “Just to remind you.” He said. “I’ll turn to ashes in daylight and as long as we’re bonded together, you’re going down with me.” The vampire was clearly annoyed that Aiden didn’t understand right away.

Aiden took a few steps back again, afraid that he had crossed the vampire’s borders. He reminded himself not to get onto the vampire’s bad side again and only nodded. He would try to keep up and walk after the vampire the rest of the night, but he wasn’t going to promise that he was going to make it.

\---

Hours later, Aiden was exhausted. On the horizon the sky became lighter, indicating that it was getting morning.

“We have to find a place to stay for the day.” Xy’lan announced, but wasn’t irritated that they hadn’t made it, like Aiden had expected.

Aiden nodded slowly. He had black circles around his eyes and he couldn’t feel his feet and legs anymore. Traveling wasn’t normally an issue for him. However, staying awake a whole night while walking none stop was too much for his body. How he loved to find a place to hide from the sun and fall asleep. He slowly dragged himself after the vampire.

It didn’t take them long until they found a small cave or maybe it was more a hole within the mountain, covered by shrubs and trees to block out any sunlight. Aiden didn’t really care, as long as he was able to rest.

The bard stepped into the cave and had to duck not to hit his head. He sat down and looked up at Xy’lan just to make sure the vampire was satisfied enough with the place.

Xy’lan stepped inside as well and stared at Aiden for a while. Than he smiled gently –a smile Aiden hadn’t seen on the vampire’s face yet-. “Sleep well.” The vampire said and sat down.

Aiden frowned. He couldn’t really understand why the vampire was friendly towards him, but he decided not to get too bothered by it. “Thank you.” He mumbled softly, lie down and fell asleep.

 

**~To be continued~**


End file.
